


When Push Comes To Shove

by ElizabethGugino



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Drama & Romance, F/F, Family Drama
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-10
Updated: 2014-07-14
Packaged: 2018-02-08 05:59:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 20,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1929336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElizabethGugino/pseuds/ElizabethGugino
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Regina has always been very protective of the ones she loves, particularly her family, but what happens when her true love and unborn child is in grave danger? This story is all about the relationship between Emma and Regina, the family that they create, and of course, the obstacles along the way. *Magic Baby Fic* (Also posted on FanFiction)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Posting this fic on here hoping to entertain some more willing readers. Hope you all enjoy!

“Honey, I’m home!” The brunette yelled up the stairs with her warm, sultry voice as she entered the house. She had been watching the clock tick ever so slowly all day long. She just wanted to be home where she knew she was wanted. Regina knew that the person she had been waiting to see would be in their master suite.

The brunette took off her shoes at the front door and dropped her purse and car keys on the vanity as she walked through the foyer. She glanced into the living room, noticing that everything was still in place, before she began to climb the stairs to the second floor. Halfway up the stairs, she heard the blonde call back.

“Babe, I’m in the bedroom.”

A small smile spread across the brunette’s face.In no time, she was outside the bedroom door which was just barely open. She put her hand on the door and pushed it open while she directed her loving gaze at the beautiful blonde who was sitting upright, looking intently at her computer screen.

Five years ago, if you had asked the Mayor of Storybrooke what she thought she would be doing now, the answer definitely would not have been this. She was taking care of her family in her own home, the two things that she had longed for from the very beginning. However, her idea of a family was not exactly marrying the birth mother of her adopted son and definitely not having another child with the same woman. But now that she’s there, she would never take it back.

Standing there, taking in everything from that moment, the brunette knew that she had found her happy ending. The blonde’s skin was glowing brightly. She had a small smirk on her face directed towards what she was typing. Regina knew that, once she got the reports in her office that she would probably spend quite a bit of time editing them before they go on file. The blonde had a tendency to add a few of her own humorous remarks that should not be included in a professional report. Then emerald green eyes looked up into deep brown.

“Hey, I’m almost done with this report and then I will put my computer away for the rest of the night.” The blonde said quickly looking back at her work. The brunette walked over to the bed, sat down on the edge closest to the door, gently lifted her hand to the blonde’s face, and pulled it towards her so she could once again gaze into those emerald green eyes.

“You know, when we agreed that you would stay at home on bed rest, I didn’t think that meant that you would do the same work load, just from bed.”

“I know, but these reports have to get done. And my dad can’t do all of this anyway, the town’s sheriff has to sign them personally.”

“Well, I have news for you, dear. You can’t really sign them on the computer; they have to be hard copies.”

“Unless you use this new thing called the electronic signature, it’s kind of a big deal these days. Everybody’s doing it.” The blonde directed her attention, once again, to the computer screen in hopes that she would be able to get the report done quickly. “Then, at least, my dad can print them and send them over to your office.”

The blonde removed her gaze from the computer screen and turned it to the deep chocolate eyes that were now glaring back at her. There was worry and concern glossing over on the brunette’s face. She knew that she wouldn’t be able to keep up this whole trying to work at home thing for very much longer. As much as she loved her job, her family came first and right now, that included staying healthy during her second pregnancy. Not just for the baby, but for herself and her wife and son.

“Gina, I will be fine. Don’t worry. I’m still taking it easy. I rarely ever get out of bed unless I’m hungry or I need to pee. Which is honestly most of the time, but that’s beside the point.” The blonde closed her laptop and shifted herself towards the brunette while taking both of her hands and placing them on her swelling stomach. “I promise that this baby, our baby, will be healthy and strong just like Henry was. I know my body and it was just telling me that I needed to slow down for a while. That’s all. I’d rather do this than to allow anything bad to happen.”

“Please, just take it easy, Emma. I’ve been through a lot of heartache in my life and I don’t want to lose any more loved ones. Your little stunt running after the town drunk while being six months pregnant was not exactly the wisest decision you’ve ever made. I don’t want anything to happen to you!”

“I know, babe, that’s why I’m making that promise to you. And also this one: I promise that I will go slow with everything and stay calm and relax all day, every day. I will stay in this house and not leave unless I am with you and only you.”

The brunette shifted uncomfortably when Emma had finished her last statement. Granted, she wanted the blonde to be safe but keeping her locked up in the house doesn’t exactly sound delightful, for anyone. Regina knew that her face was giving away all of the emotions that ranged from fear of losing Emma and the baby to relief that Emma knew the magnitude of her predicament.

“Okay, fine. I love you!”

“I love you too!”

The brunette loved hearing the blonde say those words. She leaned in closer to the blonde, their noses almost touching.

“I will always love you, Emma Swan-Mills, no matter what!”

Without a moment to lose, she leaned in just a little further and luscious red lips met soft pink ones in a gentle, but loving kiss. The two women wanted it to last forever but the need for air was too great. The brunette sat up straight, longing for more of that kiss but knew that it would have to wait until later.

“So, where is Henry? I’m assuming he made it home from school today.”

“Yeah, he did. He’s actually in his room right now. I wouldn’t go bother him though unless you really want to embarrass him.”

“Why’s that? I’m sure there is nothing that he wouldn’t tell me.”

“Well….”

“Okay, so maybe there is. Wow, I can’t believe I even just said that.”

“No worries, Regina, he is only talking to a girl right now. Jeez, get your head out of the gutter.”

“Wait a minute, hypocrite, you are the one that is always thinking the dirty thoughts…”

“Yes, but I am currently pregnant so any dirty thoughts from me don’t really count.”

“And, why would that be?”

“Because I can’t act on any of them!”

“Oh, you are so bad.” The brunette said in a low, sultry voice as she got up from the bed and turned towards the door to the hallway.

“You should know; you knocked me up.” The blonde called back at her before re-situating herself on the bed. “By the way, I should remind you that your in-laws are coming for dinner tomorrow night. I really need you to be on your best behavior.”

“Emma, are you serious? Why are they coming over? I mean, you should ask me these things before you invite them.”

“Whoa, Gina! I did ask you…. while you were at the office yesterday…. ring a bell?”

“Ugh! Okay, fine! I will be on my best behavior, but only because you asked. Not because Snow deserves it.”

“Alright, babe, that’s fine. Just don’t plan on sleeping in here for the next week.”

Regina knew that when the blonde threatened to kick the older woman out of the bedroom at all, it was because she was very sincere about the things that were happening. Like her parents coming for dinner. Ever since the curse broke and the two women got married, Snow had quite a grudge against the former evil queen that she never really got over.

“Really, honey? You’re going to play that game? Well, fine. I’m going to go say hi to Henry and then I will be down in the kitchen cooking dinner and blowing off steam.”

Right as the brunette was stomping out of the room, the blonde could’ve sworn she heard Regina say something along the lines of “You wanna play dirty, Swan? You’re on!” But Emma shrugged it off like it was nothing and grabbed her laptop once again.

XXXXX

The next evening came much quicker for Regina than she was really ready for. She always did dread the events that she had to spend with Snow. Her wife’s mother was none too pleased when she found out that the two were romantically involved, let alone planning a wedding, and then later, expecting a child. At first, Snow decided that Henry was going to spend a lot more time with his grandparents because the influence of being around his mothers was not actually a good environment for a 13 year old boy. Of course, Emma and Regina didn’t object to this because it also meant more time for them to be alone.

Regina had been in the kitchen preparing dinner for the last hour when Emma slowly waddled in to help as much as she could, or in this case, as much as Regina would allow. Henry was asked to come down and help but a conversation with a girl was a little more inviting than him having to deal with his mother’s arguing over who got to use the bigger knife.

Normal conversation was held between the two women until the front doorbell rang loudly throughout the house. Regina quickly glanced up to the blonde as Emma returned the look with a calm reassurance that everything will be okay. The blonde put her hand over the brunettes briefly and then turned to walk towards the front door. Before Emma could even get herself through the kitchen door, Henry had already run down the stairs and met his grandparents at the door.

“Henry, it’s so good to see you.” Snow greeted as she pushed through the doorway and gave Henry a hug. Charming was closely following behind.

“Hey, Grandma. Hey, Grandpa.” His air was being restricted by the death grip hug that his grandmother was giving him but luckily, Emma had made her way to the foyer and snagged the attention.

“Oh, Emma, you are absolutely glowing.” Snow sighed as she walked towards Emma, leaving Henry and his grandfather talking at the door. Regina stood in the doorway of the kitchen watching the whole scene play out. There was one thing that she would always have to thank Snow for and that was giving Emma to her. The way that the blonde’s face lit up when her mother held her was so satisfying to Regina. It almost made her envious of the relationship that the two had. The brunette’s relationship with her own mother was nothing short of awful and it only made her want a much better relationship with her own child.

Suddenly, Emma let out a small growl of distress as she hunched over slightly and clutched her swelling baby belly. Regina immediately jumped into action launching herself towards the blonde. She put her right hand on Emma’s lower back and placed the other on the blonde’s hands over the baby. Snow, Charming and Henry were standing close by but didn’t dare try to help Emma since Regina had put her body in between them and the blonde as a protective barrier. They would have to go through Regina to get to Emma.

“Emma, what is it? What’s wrong? Is it the baby?” Regina pressed Emma for answers but none were coming. The blonde’s face was scrunched up in pain. Slowly, Emma began to stand up as straight as she could. She took her right hand and put it over Regina’s hand that was on her belly. The blonde brought her gaze up to the brunette’s and saw nothing but fear in the deep brown eyes of her wife.

“Gina, I just need to sit down.” The blonde’s voice was very calm; almost too calm for Emma Swan-Mills. Regina recognized this instantly and knew that she needed to respect the blonde’s wishes, but also kept her guard up because her fear for the baby was extremely high.

“Baby, are you sure? Do we need to go to the hospital?”

“No, Regina, just help me sit down for a minute. The pain is just about gone but I need to just rest for a little while.” Emma was looking at Regina with one of the most intense stares that the brunette had ever seen. It meant that Regina had better do what Emma was saying.

“Regina, let’s move her into the dining room. We’ll all be there together with her anyway.” Regina had completely forgotten about the other three in the room since it was very clear that her biggest concern currently was the pain that her wife was having. At the sound of her mother-in-law’s voice, she fell out of her momentary stupor and began to help the blonde into the dining room to sit down. Then maybe she can finally find out what was causing the blonde to be in pain.

“Now that you are sitting down, will you tell me what’s wrong, Emma?” Regina kneeled down in front of the blonde and peered up into the green eyes that were locked onto her. Snow had come up behind Regina and Henry and Charming behind Emma.

“I think I’ve just worked myself a little too hard today. It was a very brief pain. I don’t think anything is wrong with the baby, but I’m not going to be doing anything the next few days, just in case.”

“Emma, what did we talk about? The doctor said you needed to be careful. I can’t be here all the time to make sure you are behaving by the rules.” Regina had placed her hands on the blonde’s knees hoping for some form of understanding.

“I know, Gina, but whenever we have these dinners with my parents, I always get worked up because I worry about how you and my mother are going to get along. Apparently, it just got the best of me today.”

“I would say so. Well, you stay here and we’ll go get the rest of dinner out here to the table.” Regina stood to walk into the kitchen. She had grabbed Henry to help her as she went and Charming began to follow while Snow stayed with Emma.

“Regina?” Emma called out to the brunette before she entered the kitchen. Regina stopped suddenly and turned around to look at the blonde. “I love you, Gina!”

The brunette’s heart swelled up in her chest. There were tears threatening to fall down the cheeks of the usually composed Mayor. She thought of the blonde staring back at her with the most loving gaze, which allowed her to remember to be strong and push those tears away.

“I love you too, Emma!”

Regina turned back to the kitchen with Henry right behind her to bring out dinner. Charming stood looking back at his wife and pregnant daughter for a few moments before following Henry into the kitchen. Snow moved closer to Emma, pulled out the chair next to her and sat down facing the blonde.

“Emma, there’s something wrong isn’t there?” The short haired brunette looked at her daughter with concern.

“Why would you ask that? I’m fine. I just need to sit down for a minute.”

“Emma, don’t fool yourself just to be strong for Regina. You need to take care of you and that baby. That’s what’s important and you know it.”

“Mom, you worry too much. I’ll be fine.”

“You better not be lying. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“I will let you know if anything happens, okay?” Emma looked into her mother’s green eyes. She could feel the concern flow through the gaze but it was also accompanied by love. Then Emma’s eyes grew to be twice the size. Staring at Snow, she moved her hands back down to her belly and hunched over again screaming in agony.

The sound of the blonde’s scream echoed in the kitchen. Regina dropped the casserole dish she had in her hands and ran towards the sound. When she entered the dining room, she saw Snow holding Emma back in the chair, preventing her from collapsing onto the floor.

“Can I have some help here? We need to get Emma to the hospital NOW!!” Snow yelled this to anyone who was listening, even though Charming knew that it was mostly directed at him since he is the only one that would be capable of lifting Emma and carrying her out to the car; which he did without hesitation. Seeing and hearing his daughter in such pain, hurt him more than he would ever expect. Once Emma was safely in the car, Regina jumped into the driver’s seat and put the keys into the ignition, starting the car. The blonde was still screaming in pain every so often. Charming quickly glanced at Regina and they had shared a look that told him exactly what he needed to do. He needed to take Snow and Henry to the hospital in a separate vehicle. This was to ensure that Regina could stay as calm as possible without having the agitation of the blonde’s mother or her son worrying about Emma.

Regina put the car into reverse, backed out of the driveway, shifted into drive and sped down the street toward the hospital. Since the sheriff and her father were both headed towards the hospital for an emergency, the brunette knew that she would not have to worry about law enforcement on speed regulations. Emma’s sporadic agonizing yells encouraged Regina to move faster but she still should stay at a reasonable speed.

The brunette kept glancing over at the blonde to say comforting comments but the screaming covered most of it up until all of it suddenly stopped. Regina looked at Emma, concerned that she may be in even more pain that made her silent but was instead greeted with a look of terror in the emerald green eyes.

“Regina, whatever happens…”

“No, baby, don’t say that. Come on, everything is going to be alright. Now just stay strong for me, stay awake.”

“Listen, Gina, please. Whatever happens, just know that I have always loved you since the first moment I laid eyes on you.” The blonde’s words slowly faded out as her eyes fluttered shut and remained closed. Her head leaned back against the head rest while her hands slowly crept down her belly until they were limp in her lap.

“Emma. EMMA. Come on, baby, open your eyes. Stay with me, please. I can’t lose you. I’m not strong enough to lose you too. EMMA!”

The brunette turned her focus back to getting the blonde to the hospital. She knew that she had to get the blonde there quickly, but all she could think about was what Emma had said before she fell unconscious.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starts with a flashback of when Emma thought she was pregnant. Followed by revealing the health of Emma and the baby. There's also some fluffy moments.

*Flashback*  
"Regina, I… umm… need to talk to you." The blonde had walked into the brunette's home office and stood uncomfortably in front of her desk. "I really need to talk to you! Is now an okay time?"

"Emma, any time is fine. What is it?" The blonde was staring at the ground with her hands clasped together in front of her. The look on her face told the brunette that whatever the matter is, was an important one. She got up from her office chair and walked around the desk to stand in front of the blonde, putting one hand on Emma's waist and the other went to lift Emma's chin to bring her eyes to Regina's. "Baby, are you okay? What's going on?"

"Umm… I think we are going to have to make a doctor's appointment."

"What are you talking about? You're not making any sense. Are you hurt? Do you not feel well? What?"

"I think I'm pregnant."

Regina was speechless. Of course, she was excited about the prospect of being a mother to a second child, but she was honestly thinking that it would have been her to get pregnant. Not Emma. Obviously, the spell that they had agreed upon using didn't exactly give specific information on the results, but since she was the one actually performing the spell, the brunette had assumed that it would have been her.

"Are you sure? I mean, it's only been two weeks since we tried…"

"Gina, I'm pretty sure. This is exactly the same thing as before. With Henry. And unless the companies making the take home pregnancy tests were all experiencing flaws in their products at the same exact time, all the positive symbols must mean something."

"Uh… okay. I'll call Dr. Whale." The brunette swiftly walked back around her desk, sat down, picked up her phone, and started dialing the doctor's office. Emma just stood in place, stunned that her wife's reaction was not at all pleasing.

"Hold on. Regina, are you even happy about this?" The brunette put the phone back down quickly after registering the concern in the blonde's voice.

"Of course, dear, I just didn't expect it to happen so soon."

"That is not all of it. Come on, tell me what you're thinking."

"You really want to know? I was hoping it would be me, okay? I've always wanted to have a baby, Emma, even before the curse. I didn't think that it would happen this way when I was the one to perform the spell. I thought it would be me. You had the experience with Henry." Hearing those words made the blonde feel like she was going to start crying. She had never heard her wife say such things about having a baby. Yes, she knew that they had both agreed that they wanted another child, no matter how they had to do it, but this was not expected at all.

"Oh, honey, I'm sorry. I mean, if I had only known…" The blonde walked to the brunette, looking straight into those deep brown eyes that had tears forming in them. She got down on her knees in front of Regina, put her hands on the brunette's thighs, and held the gaze between the two. Regina responded by putting her hands on top of the blonde's.

"But you didn't. And neither did I. So, for now, we can't dwell on the circumstances. We do, however, need to call Dr. Whale and set up an appointment."

"Okay, baby, while you do that, I am going to go lie down for a bit." Emma started to stand up but was pushed back down by her wife's hands. Once the blonde was kneeling again, the brunette's hands went to the sides of her face and just held it in place.

"Emma Swan-Mills, I love you with all my heart."

"I love you too, Regina Swan-Mills." The brunette leaned down to reach her deep red lips to the soft pink lips that were longing for contact. The kiss was deepened by the blonde who had a sudden urgency for all the attention she could get from her wife. After a few moments, though, the brunette pulled back, allowing the blonde to finally stand and walk out of the room. Regina watched her as she left, noticing a slight resistance when she reached the doorway. Emma looked back at her and then proceeded to leave.  
*End Flashback*

XXXXX

Regina was in the hospital waiting room, pacing the length of it. She had tried desperately to go back with her unconscious wife, but the nurses had refused to let her do so. Tears had formed in her eyes but they were forced back. The brunette kept thinking of her son that was watching her from the waiting room chairs. Occasionally, he glanced up at his brunette mother who was pacing back and forth. Her facial expressions were also of interest as he could see that every now and then she would disappear into her thoughts, or in this case, memories.

"Hey, mom." Henry walked over to his mother and put his hand on her shoulder. Regina jumped at the unexpected touch but then relaxed when she realized it was only her son. "You keep going somewhere in your mind. What are you thinking about?"

"Your mother; and when she first told me she was pregnant. I keep thinking that if only it had been me that got pregnant, we wouldn't be here right now. We would all be fine and she wouldn't be in so much pain."

"Mom, you didn't know. How were you supposed to know that this was going to happen? Ma is strong. You know that. If anyone can get through this, she can!"

"Yes, Henry, but what about the baby? With a human growing inside of you, things can go horribly wrong." Henry removed his hand from her shoulder, held her hands in his and looked up to find her eyes.

"That's not going to happen, Mom. Dr. Whale won't let it. He's the best doctor in town and has saved so many lives. Mom, you just have to trust that everything will be alright." Regina looked into her son's eyes. She knew that he was right. His wisdom was much beyond his fifteen years and she had no idea where he got it from.

Snow and Charming were sitting in the back corner of the room watching the small but very emotional exchange between mother and son. Despite the fact that Regina once made it her life goal to kill Snow White, she still encouraged true love no matter who it involved. She believed that everyone deserved to have their own true love. When Snow had found out about her daughter's love interest only after a year of the curse being broken, she was torn in two different directions. One direction had her believing that she just couldn't trust her only daughter anymore and one that would try to remain oblivious to the fact because she didn't want to lose Emma again.

At that moment, Dr. Whale entered the waiting room. Regina, Henry, Snow, and Charming all moved quickly to stand near the good doctor. His face was unreadable and his stance was very professional. Regina inched closer to Henry to make sure that she had something, or someone, to hold on to.

"Emma and the baby are stable for now. It seems that it was a good call to put Emma on bed rest a couple months back. She has what is known as pre-eclampsia . Her blood pressure is quite high, she has the pains in her abdomen, and from what you said earlier, she has also been vomiting more often lately. This condition is high-risk but it is also common. We will need to keep Emma here for a few days to keep an eye on her vitals and to make sure that the baby is not stressed at all."

"Will she be okay?"

"Yes, Regina, she will be okay. Keeping her here is just a safety precaution. We would rather have her here to make sure that everything is alright versus sending her home without knowing for sure." Snow and Regina both let out a sigh of relief when Dr. Whale gave them the good news.

"Can I go see her, Dr. Whale?" Regina just stared at him with all the power she could muster. If he even had the gall to tell her no, there would be hell to pay.

"Of course, but only one visitor at a time. I'm afraid that having high blood pressure and a lot of visitors don't mix well. But she has been asking for you." With that being said, Regina followed the good doctor back to where her wife lay in a hospital bed.

"Thank you, Dr. Whale, I think I can manage from here." Regina was determined to enter the room by herself without any assistance. She wanted to look strong for her wife. When the brunette reached the door, she stopped and looked in on the blonde. Emma looked so small laying on the bed with what seemed like a million little monitors attached to her. Some of them were for her and some of them were for the baby. The blonde's hands were placed gently on her swollen stomach. She barely reacted to the slow movements of Regina walking towards the bed.

"Hey baby!"

"Emma, I was so worried. How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling much better, but that could potentially be the pain meds working." The blonde went silent and just gazed up at her wife. The brunette's eyes were very red and puffy like she had just gotten done crying after several hours. Which may not have been too far from the truth. "Honey, I have to stay here for a few days. The doctors want to keep me monitored to make sure that the baby is doing okay. I know that you probably want to stay here, but I think you should go home with Henry and keep a somewhat normal schedule."

"Emma, no, why do you always do that? You're so strong in situations like these that you don't understand the depth of what is happening. Do you realize you could've died today? What you have is not to be taken lightly. If you think that I'm going to go back to my normal everyday routine, you're crazy! I'm going to stay here with you and Henry is going to go stay with your parents." The blonde wanted to be angry at her wife for being so stubborn but she couldn't find the strength in her to actually care right now. She put her hand on the brunette's which had been lying on the side of the bed. Holding each other's hands made it seem that nothing was wrong anymore, but the brunette knew better than to be oblivious to the truth.

"Regina Swan-Mills, you can be the most stubborn person but I can't imagine you being any different. I love you."

"I love you too, Emma." Regina leaned down to meet the blonde's lips with her own. Every moment was now extremely precious to the brunette and she was not going to let any slip by.

XXXXX

Three days went by without any off the chart readings for Emma and the baby. The doctor allowed the blonde to go home with her family, but only on the condition that she stay in bed and let Regina wait on her hand and foot. Henry was there after school was done for the day and Snow managed to be there on the weekends.

One afternoon, only a couple days after the blonde was discharged, she had decided to move her place of dwelling from the master suite bed to the bay window cushion. Regina was not too pleased but she welcomed the short move since she knew that the blonde was never one to stay in one place for too long. Regina entered the bedroom, walked over to the window, and sat down on the opposite side to just admire the blonde and her glowing complexion. Emma was staring out the window at nothing in particular but her wife knew that it only meant one thing. Emma was thinking about something intense or complicated. After a few moments, she turned her face to the brunette and met the deep brown eyes that have been longing for attention.

"You know, we're going to have to pick out a name for this baby." Emma had a small smirk form on her face when she saw the brunette do the same.

"That's what you were contemplating so heavily? I would've thought the whole weight of the world was on your shoulders with the way were looking out to the sky!"

"Well, picking out a name is hard; especially when you don't know if you need a boy name or a girl name. Didn't you have a hard time deciding on Henry's name? I know that it was also your father's name but I'm sure there were other names that you had thought of."

"Actually, no, not at all. Ever since my father died, I knew that I would name my first son after him. I was hoping that I would actually have a son of my own, but when Henry came along I knew that it couldn't have been any better. I was blessed with a little baby boy of my own."

"Okay, so Henry is the exception. Since we are on the topic of boy names, what boy name do like? If this so happens to be a boy."

"I don't know. Do we want to go with a more modern name or a name that is a classic?"

"I think that we should go with whatever you like!"

"If you're playing that game, then how about Cooper?"

"Hmm. Try again."

"Hunter?"

"No. Absolutely not."

"Julian?"

"Jeez, woman, pretty soon I'm going to take back what I said about you choosing the name."

"Okay, well then how about Noah?"

"Now, that's not bad, but I'm still not sure. Let's think on it for a bit. Alright, girl name?"

"I have a lot of girl names picked out since I had always dreamed of having a little girl."

"So… what are they, Regina?"

"Two that I grew quite fond of were Keira and Genevieve."

"Mmm… I'm thinking that we should still come up with some alternatives. What about Elise?"

"I'm not really fond of that name. How about Vivienne?"

"It sounds really grown up for a baby. Speaking of which, what would you think about naming her after my grandmother, Eva?"

"I think that could definitely be a possibility, sweetie." Regina glanced over to the clock on the nightstand. It read 5:35. Henry would be home soon and the brunette hadn't even started making dinner yet. "Okay, babe, I've got to go start making dinner. You and I both know that Henry is going to be starving when he gets home."

"I'll be here, tethered to my post. Hey, what would you say to having a picnic in the window here tonight?"

"I think that would be great." The brunette stood up and leaned down to give the blonde a kiss on her forehead before going down to the kitchen. "Oh, Emma, I meant to ask you something a while ago. Umm… when I took you into the hospital, you said something to me and I'm wondering if it was true or not."

Emma just stared at the brunette like she was some foreign alien, but then a smirk came onto her face.

"Yes, Regina, that was true. I have loved you since the first moment I laid eyes on you."

As the brunette left the room, Emma noticed that her phone was vibrating over on the nightstand. She tried to reach it from the window sill but her arms were too short and her belly was too big. She stood up carefully and crossed over to the phone. On the caller ID screen was Henry.

"Hello? Henry? Where are you? Your mom's making dinner."

"Ma? Ma? Something's wrong. I don't know what to do. I don't know what happened. One moment, we were kissing and the next she just collapsed in my arms. Ma, what do I do?" Emma was speechless. What could she do to help? She has to stay in bed for her health. For the baby.

"Henry, where are you?"

"We're down by the toll bridge."

"Okay. I can get your mom to come get you, but you're going to need to call 911. You need an emergency medical team. Okay? Just stay put. Lay her down on her side and don't go anywhere. Got it?"

"Yeah, Ma, just hurry okay?"

"It'll be okay, Henry, love you."

"Love you too, Ma!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happened to the girl that Henry kissed? Mom always comes to the rescue, but leaves Emma alone. And a visit from Rumple is never really a good thing, right?

Emma got up from the seat at the window. With one hand holding her bulging belly and the other steadying herself on whatever piece of furniture was nearest, she slowly waddled over to the doorway. The blonde knew that if she went much further, the brunette would go crazy and start yelling at her that she is overdoing it again. Since Emma certainly didn't need that right now, she leaned against the door frame, facing the staircase going down to the main floor.

"REGINA! HENRY NEEDS YOU!" Emma tried to keep her worry out of her shaky voice but Regina was way too smart for that sort of thing and knew that something was up.

"Emma, what's going on?" The brunette was running up the staircase in a heartbeat and sprinted towards the blonde who was still clutching her baby belly.

"Henry just called. He was kissing a girl and she apparently passed out. He said she wasn't waking up and he doesn't know what to do. I don't even know who the girl is, but you've got to go to him, Regina, he is too young to have to deal with this. I told him to call for an ambulance, but he seemed to barely even acknowledge that. You have to go help him."

"Okay, Emma, calm down honey, it's going to be alright." Regina stated as she took the blonde's hands into hers and just held them. Before the pregnancy, Regina was always the one to get too worked up about a situation, not Emma. Now that the blonde has all of those hormones flowing through her body, she was definitely no longer the 'strong one'. "Where are they? I can take my car and get to them probably quicker than the ambulance."

"They are at the Toll Bridge. Regina, he is all alone out there with her, whoever her is. He needs us and I can't go anywhere. I can barely leave this room." Tears were starting to fall down the side of her face. The brunette noticed this, removed her hands from the blonde's, and used them to wipe away the tears. When the tears were gone, she kept her hands on the blonde's face.

"You will be fine right here. Don't worry about it, I'm sure that everything will be okay and that Henry was just overreacting a little bit. I'll be right back, honey. Just get some rest though and try not to think about this. I will have my phone on me if you need anything." The brunette leaned over to press her lips against the blonde's. That small action elicited such emotion from the blonde that it actually encouraged her tears to come even more. Despite the tears, the blonde moved her hands up to the brunette's face and pulled her in for a much deeper, passionate kiss. Regina couldn't remember the last time that so much passion had been put into one of their kisses. As the need for air quickly became more desperate, the two women pulled apart but not without hesitation.

"Babe, I love you so much, but I need you to stay here and be strong. Henry needs us to be strong right now, okay? I'll call you. I promise." Regina did everything she could to reassure the blonde that everything was going to happen in the best way that it possibly could. Without saying anything more, Regina removed her hands from comforting the blonde, turned, and walked away down the hall to the staircase. Once out of sight of the blonde, the brunette started sprinting towards the front door, barely slowing down to grab her car keys and her purse.

XXXXX

The moment Regina exited her car at the Toll Bridge, she was bombarded by a very frightened Henry. Motherly instinct immediately took over and the brunette held her son close for a few short seconds. He was shaking uncontrollably. All Regina wanted to do was hold him and say everything was going to be okay, but it wasn't. She knew it wasn't and she promised him years ago that she would never lie to him again. So it just worked out better to not say anything at all and just be there for him. Then she remembered why she was there.

An ambulance was nearby, just loading in a gurney with an unconscious girl lying on it. She was already on oxygen and connected to several monitors. Her blonde hair was flowing around her face and she was wearing a beautiful deep blue cocktail dress with simple black flats. Even though what she was wearing made her look about twice her age, Regina couldn't get over how small everything around her made her look.

"Henry, what happened?" The brunette gently pushed away to look her son in the eyes. "Why aren't you over there with her?"

"Mom, she is unconscious. I can't do anything for her right now, besides, I needed to stay here and wait for you. But can we please go catch up with the ambulance? I don't want her to wake up alone. I don't know what happened. One moment, I was kissing her and the next, she was falling to the ground. I caught her and laid her down but she was just lying there, unresponsive to anything. Mom, what did I do to her?" Henry was in shock from what happened to his girlfriend. Little did Regina know that they had actually become an 'official' thing. He was so excited about it that he had forgotten to tell his mothers before his date. But now, his girlfriend was lying in an ambulance, on her way to the hospital because he kissed her.

"Honey, I don't think you did anything to her. She might have some medical condition. Has she told you about anything before?"

"No, mom, she hasn't. I think she would have though. We talk non-stop every day." Regina put her arm around Henry's shoulder and walked him to the car. She was really stumped about the condition of the girl. She was clearly alive but she was completely unresponsive and the EMTs weren't rushing to get her anywhere fast.

"Well, let's go to hospital and make sure she is doing okay." Henry stumbled into the front seat of the car, put his seat belt on, and just stared out the front windshield. The brunette shut the passenger side door and walked around to the opposite side. She glanced in at her son. He had a blank expression on his face and looked broken. There wasn't a limit to what Regina would do for her son as long as it meant that she didn't have to see that look and he didn't have to go through the emotions. She knew it all too well from a long time ago. Luckily, she had Emma now and wasn't prone to that kind of emotion anymore but she still never wished it on anyone. Finally, she got into the car and drove directly to the hospital, not giving much care to what the road signs demanded. But what she was thinking about was what could have caused the girl to pass out. Clearly, she never told Henry about any medical conditions, so that probably wasn't a factor, but if it wasn't that, then what was it? Could it have been Henry that caused this?

XXXXX

Back at the mansion, Emma was trying her hardest to stay calm, but that proved to be more difficult than it really sounded. Since she found out she was pregnant, one of her favorite calming things to do was to take a bath. Lately, that had been near impossible just because she wasn't very capable of getting out of the tub once she was in it. However, this night definitely called for it.

Instead of pacing by the bed, waiting for the phone to ring, the blonde waddled into the en suite bathroom and began to run hot water in the tub. As the water started to fill, she discarded her clothing and stepped into the tub but not without setting her cell phone on the edge first. The weightlessness that the water gave her was an extreme release of the tension that she had from carrying the baby. It allowed her to get more in tune with everything else that was happening with her body. This particular night though, with all of the stress from her worrying about Henry, some pains in her lower back started to become increasingly stronger. Emma knew that pre-labor contractions were starting. Remembering how this went when she had Henry, she was suddenly very happy that she decided to put her cell phone on the ledge next to her.

XXXXX

Regina and Henry pulled up outside the hospital shortly after the ambulance had arrived. Before the brunette could say anything, Henry was out of the car in a flash. On the way there, neither of them had spoken. Henry was too busy thinking about his girlfriend and what he could have done to her. Regina had been thinking about the cause of his 'supposed' girlfriend's condition. Several times, the thought of some magical curse was in play but she couldn't believe that Henry would have gotten himself into something like that.

"Henry, wait up, please."

"Mom, hurry, I need to be there when she wakes up."

"Henry, we need to talk. Why do I get the feeling that you're not necessarily telling me everything?"

"What do you mean, mom? She passed out, in my arms, when I kissed her."

"I don't even know her name and you're off kissing her, at the Toll Bridge of all places!"

"Okay, I can't deal with this right now. She's in there because of me."

"That may be so but I can't get rid of the idea that there is something much more than just that."

"Mom, come on. Please don't do this right now. We're in the parking lot."

"Would you rather this happen inside where everyone can hear?" Regina gave Henry a moment to think about that. He finally looked up at her with understanding in his eyes. "Let's start with something simple like what's her name?"

"Her name is Grace."

"Okay, and how old is Grace?"

"Are you playing twenty questions? Jeez, mom, can't this wait?"

"Don't 'jeez, mom' me, Henry, I have the right to ask questions. And no, this can't wait. Your girlfriend is in there, unconscious, because you kissed her. Are you going to tell me that's not a coincidence?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Henry, you kissed her and she passed out, unconscious, totally unresponsive, like she went into a deep sleep. This seems all too familiar but only the opposite of what usually happens."

"I don't understand. Why would there be any correlation between the two?"

"Your mother. Your birth mother just so happens to carry the gift of true love's kiss. When she kisses someone, their curse can be broken as long as it is true love. Henry, what if you have the opposite effect?"

"You're crazy. You really don't believe that could actually happen do you?"

"Well, let's see. I have seen magic do many things before including taking people's hearts, shape-shifting, cause bodily harm without a physical touch. Why wouldn't I think this was a possibility? Henry, have you talked to anyone specific lately about magic?"

"No, I haven't, okay. Can I go inside now?"

"We're not yet done here."

"Oh yes, dearie, I think you are." The brunette heard the voice come from behind her. Unfortunately, she knew it all too well to run or even flinch from it. She turned around to the source. "I don't think Henry is needed any longer. So, you can go inside to be with your girlfriend, dearie, although I don't think she'll be waking up any time soon."

"GOLD! What did you do to her?" Henry, assuming Gold knew more than anyone as usual, was furious. His face got a brilliant shade of red and his fists curled into a ball.

"I did nothing, dearie, that task was left to you. Now run along and let me have a chat with your mother." Henry stared down Rumplestiltskin for a few moments and turned to enter the hospital emergency room.

"Rumple, I swear, if you do anything to hurt him…"

"Madam Mayor, do you think I would hurt him to get what I want. That's a low blow." Gold had a knack for jumping in and out of his old ways as Rumplestiltskin. Ways that Regina was still trying to figure out.

"It wouldn't be the first time. Now, what happened to Grace? Why did she end up like that? You obviously know more than I do on the subject."

"All in good time, dearie. In the meanwhile, I have a proposition I would like to offer you."

"What could I possibly offer you?"

"Oh, not you, dearie, but your precious daughter." Regina took offense to this. How could Rumplestiltskin even know about the sex of the baby? Emma and she hadn't even wanted to find out the sex until the baby was born. But wait, why was he talking about the baby? He wouldn't even care unless….

"No! Absolutely not! You are not using her for anything. You've tried that once already with me and I will make sure it doesn't happen with her."

"Are you sure you want to risk your family's lives, Regina?" The brunette just looked at Mr. Gold for a few seconds. She hesitated but then realized that there are certain things that she can't live without; her family being one of them.

"Okay, Rumple, I'll bite. What's in it for you?"

"You allow me to instruct your daughter in the art of magic! In return, I will fix this little problem with Henry and make sure your precious wife and daughter live through the next day."

"What the hell are you talking about? Live through the next day? Emma is fine and at home. She has her phone if she needs anything."

"Are you sure about that, dearie?" Gold was starting to make Regina very nervous. He could visibly see her eyes start to get bigger and her usual pursed lips were fading into a straight line. Thoughts of Emma and the baby began to invade her mind and just as she was about to pull out her phone to call the blonde, the familiar tune that she had set specifically to her wife started to fill the air. "I'd answer that if I were you, dearie."

"Emma! Are you okay? What's going on?" The brunette tried desperately to keep her worry at bay long enough to get an answer, but on the end of the conversation, things were not going so well. In just the few seconds it took for Emma to respond, Regina had thought of hundreds of scenarios that could potentially happen. Not any one of them being good.

"Yeah, Regina, I mean, I think I'm going into labor." Emma replied so non-chalantly like there was no pain what-so-ever from this impending birth of their child. "Do you think you could come home now? That is, if Henry's alright. I know we'll just be back there with him in just a little while but I really think I should go to the hospital."

"Oh baby, I'm on my way. Where are you right now? Are you close enough to something so you can sit down and try to get comfortable?" The brunette had completely forgotten about the conversation she was just having with Mr. Gold. Instead, she took off towards her car, got in, and started driving away towards her house with her phone still stuck to her ear.

"Yes, honey, I'm about as comfortable as I could possibly be, but I think I'll need help to get up. I'm in the bathtub."

"I will be right there sweetie, I shouldn't be too much longer. Just keep me updated okay? If something feels off, you need to call me right away!"

"Okay, Regina, but you're going to be here in like five minutes."

"Yeah, but I need to know that you are okay. No matter what. It's a long story to get into right now, but I just really need to get to you. I love you, baby."

"I love you too. Ugh! Another contraction… owww…. Hurry, Regina, please." And with that, the brunette put down her phone and sped off towards the house. She knew Henry was fine and his girlfriend would be fine, by the sounds of it. Mr. Gold seemed more interested in her child and that was totally unacceptable. She needed to be home as soon as she possibly could. She needed to be with Emma and her unborn child.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina gets back to Emma and brings her to the hospital.

Regina quickly sped into her driveway and put the car in park. She threw her seat belt off, opened the door, jumped out, and slammed the door shut as she started running towards the house. The only thing going through her mind was to get to Emma as soon as she possibly could. Remembering where Emma said she was, Regina ran up the stairs to the second floor master suite and into the bathroom. When she opened the door, Emma was sitting in the bathtub with her head laid back on the head rest. Her hands were slowly rubbing her baby belly that was just barely above the surface of the water. She looked peaceful. She looked calm. The brunette couldn't understand why she was so calm if she was actually in labor. Regina walked over to the bathtub and kneeled beside it.

"Honey, how are you doing?"

"Shh, Gina, I don't want to wake the baby." Emma was whispering while she kept her eyes shut and her hands continued to rub her belly. Regina was suddenly very confused. Again, how could the blonde be so calm? Did she just imagine the phone call she just received from a very-much-in-pain Emma?

"Umm… shouldn't we be getting you to the hospital?" To please the blonde, Regina kept her voice to a whisper, but made sure she added a little bit of her renowned sarcasm.

"I just want to be able to have a few minutes of peace before all hell breaks loose." And with that explanation, Regina didn't want to say anymore in fear that she might disturb the peace. Whenever she's been around when the baby was awake, Emma told her many times that the baby was dancing a jig for her and that she was excited to have her other mommy near. As much as Regina wished that it was her carrying the child, she still loved that the baby knew who she was. The brunette was happy to be sitting next to her very pregnant wife and just be calm, but it definitely didn't last very long as Emma started moaning from the labor pains. Emma sat up straight, one hand clutching her belly, the other on her lower back.

"Regina, help me out of here, NOW!" Obviously, the blonde had gotten very flustered and upset by the pain. She didn't mean to be so rude but that's just what happened. She hoped that Regina would understand and forgive after all is said and done.

"Okay, honey, we'll get you out. Here, grab my hand. I'm going to put your arm on my shoulder and grab your waist and pull you up."

"I got it. Just please help me out now, we REALLY have to go to the hospital."

"Is everything okay? Is something wrong?"

"No, Regina. My contractions are just starting to get really close together. Usually that's a sign of the baby is coming."

"Alright, babe, I'll go grab our overnight bags once I get you into some clothes. You're being unusually calm for this situation."

"Yeah, well, I've done this before. But now that I'm out of the tub and standing, I think I can manage getting clothes on myself. Why don't you go get the bags and put them in the car? I will wait here for you to help me down the steps."

"Are you sure, honey, I don't want to not be here if you have another contraction."

"Just go. It's inevitable that there is going to be one. You have about six minutes before the next one, so just go."

"Okay. I'll be right back." Without any more persuasion, the brunette took off into their master suite walk-in closet, grabbed the duffel with clothes for herself and Emma and then grabbed the diaper bag with the baby's first outfit and other necessary items. Once those were in hand, she ran down the staircase, out the front door, and to the driver's side back seat of her car. She opened the door, threw in the bags, and then slammed the door shut. She then opened the driver's door and leaned in to start the car. With that ready to go, she ran back inside and up the stairs to find Emma completely dressed and ready to walk out the door.

"You got dressed fast."

"Yes, well, when you know that you only have a few minutes before another contraction hits, you tend to do things quickly."

"Good to know. I'll keep that in mind. But for now, let's get you to the car." Emma didn't need any more convincing as she took hold of Regina's hands and started walking down the hallway to the staircase. Just before she attempted to step down onto the top step, another contraction hit which sent Emma to a hunched over position while holding onto her baby belly. Regina tightened her grip on the blonde, making sure that she wouldn't fall forward down the stairs. This contraction seemed like the longest yet and that alone unnerved Regina.

"Babe, tell me what I can do. I'm here to help."

"Unless you can have this baby for me, I would highly suggest shutting up for about two more minutes."

"Okay, sorry I asked." The brunette continued to stand next to the blonde while she came back to a fully upright position. Honestly scared to say anything, Regina kept all of her worries and thoughts to herself.

"Gina, I'm sorry. I don't mean to be so… mean. This pain is just really almost unbearable."

"I think your anger is excused for a while, dear. I don't mind as long as you go back to your normal self after all of this is done."

"By all of this, you mean just the labor portion, right?"

"Yes, honey, that's what I mean."

"Good, now let's get me to the car before another contraction hits." Emma surprised Regina with her very quick turn of emotions. All the more to solidify the fact that the blonde wasn't necessarily a fan of the intermittent pain she has been in for the last couple of hours. But without hesitation, the brunette helped the blonde down the stairs and through the foyer. Right before the door, they both stopped to get shoes on Emma's feet. The blonde felt more comfortable once her shoes were on that she walked to the front door herself and started walking down the pathway to the car. Of course, Regina was right behind her, but not without pausing before closing and locking the front door. The brunette took a deep breath and a moment to realize that the next time she was going to walk through that door and into that house, there was going to be another permanent member of the family. A small smirk formed on her lips until she heard distant moans of pain. Instantly, she recovered from her moment of nostalgia and rushed to Emma's side. Another contraction hit only this time was worse than the ones previously.

"Emma, honey, let's just slowly move you over to the car, okay? We really do need to get you to the hospital."

"Just not too fast, baby." Despite the pain and anger, Emma's voice still remained calm. Although, this time, Regina thought that there might actually be something wrong. She was having a hard time believing that someone being in pain to that caliber would still be as calm as Emma currently is.

"Alright, just hold onto my hands." Regina led Emma to the passenger side of the car and helped her into the seat. She tried grabbing the seat belt but the blonde was having absolutely none of that. So, Regina ran back around to the driver's side, got in and sped down the road to the hospital.

XXXXX

*Flashback*  
It was about ten o'clock in the evening when Emma got the call. She was just lying down in bed for the night when her cell phone rang with the caller id flashing 'Granny's'. Regina hated when the blonde took phone calls after hours but since she was the sheriff, she was kind of responsible for the whole town. Especially when there wasn't a deputy on duty.

"Sheriff Swan."

"Hey Sheriff, it's Granny. Seems like Leroy has gone and gotten himself drunk again. He is hanging around the front of my diner and disturbing the customers. Can you come take care of this?"

"Sure thing, Granny, I'll be right there." Emma ended the phone call and sat up on the edge of the bed. Her hands went to rub her belly that had been growing an insane amount recently with the little baby inside of her. After a few moments, Regina walked into the bedroom from the en suite bathroom.

"Who was that, dear? It's a little late for phone calls, isn't it?"

"Domestic disturbance in the form of a drunk named Leroy. Got to go save Granny."

"Oh, Emma, you are not going out to catch him at this late hour."

"Nobody said anything about catching anybody, Regina. I've just got to remove him from the front of Granny's diner. That's all."

"Uh huh. Sure it is. That's what you always say about him but whenever you go to settle these calls, you always end up chasing him down somewhere and finally throwing his butt in jail for a night to sober up." The brunette was constantly worried about the well-being of her wife. In fact, most days she would prefer if Emma just stayed home. But to show her worry, she walked over to the blonde and kneeled in front of her. They tend to have a lot of conversations like this so it has become the stance of meaning business.

"It's not going to be like that tonight. I can't do any of that and I think I can persuade him." Emma peered down into chocolate brown eyes while the brunette's hands came up to hold the blonde's face.

"Can't you just call your father? He would be more than happy to go after Leroy, I'm sure. He doesn't want anything to happen to you just as much as me." The blonde placed her hands on top of the brunette's and brought them down to her lap.

"Gina, I will be fine. I will be gone for fifteen minutes and then I'll be back in this bed like nothing ever happened. Besides, I really don't want to disturb mom and dad. Mom accidentally spilled the fact that they were having a romantic evening together tonight."

"That's more information than I needed to know." Regina really didn't want to picture her in-laws so she quickly changed the subject back to Emma and the baby. "Emma, you better come back soon and all in one piece. Got it?"

"Yes, your majesty." The blonde grasped the moment by leaning down into her wife to capture the beautiful full lips that were in front of her. Emma tried to put everything that she was feeling into the one kiss to relay to Regina that she was going to be fine and so would the baby. The brunette reveled in the short moment of closeness. Leaning in for more, Emma gently pushed her back. "Honey, that means I actually have to leave."

"I know, I was just enjoying the moment."

"Well, I will make you a deal. When I come back, we can have many more of these moments right here in this bed. Okay?"

"Okay, you've got yourself a deal, Sheriff."

"I'll be back soon." The blonde stood up from her place on the bed and walked over to the bedroom doorway. Paused for a moment, glanced back at the brunette now lying on the bed, and then turned to leave. Little did she know that there was going to be more action that night than she could handle.

Not ten minutes later, the very pregnant blonde sheriff stepped out of her car in front of Granny's Diner. Wasn't hard to locate Leroy as he was sitting on the front steps singing loudly to anyone who would look at him. When he noticed the sheriff walking his way, he stopped singing.

"Well, what d'ya know? It's the sheriff. The very same one who's doing our beloved queen. Or should I say evil witch?"

"Now Leroy, you know that's not nice. She is my wife after all." With Emma's current condition, she figured that she should probably stay as calm as possible and let's face it, it's not the first time the blonde has had to deal with a drunk Leroy calling her wife names.

"She may be your wife but after everything that she has done to us, you still love her. I don't think I'll ever understand that."

"You don't need to understand that, ever, if you ask me. But what you do need to understand is that this is private property and the owner would like you to move away from this area. So before this gets anymore out of hand, why don't you go home. Or you could spend the night in a jail cell for all I care." Holding out a pair of handcuffs, the blonde takes a step forward towards the town drunk, hoping that he will just give up fighting for the night.

"How about neither? Yep, I think I like that option better."

"Leroy, come on, you're better than this. Don't make me force you. How would you feel if you had everyone here see that a pregnant woman can kick your ass?" Leroy jumped up at those words. Nearly scaring Emma to death, he sprinted towards her and got right into her face.

"You even put one hand on me and I will not hesitate to go after the one you love."

"Leroy!" Sheriff Swan has never taken kindly to threats and she is not about to start now, even if it is the town drunk that she plays these games with every week. It wouldn't be surprising if there was a betting pool on which nights of the week Leroy was going to get out of hand. "You know better than to threaten the sheriff. And a pregnant one, at that. I'm afraid it wouldn't go over so well with Prince Charming."

"Oh ho ho. Is daddy-dearest going to come to your rescue? I'd like to see that."

"I'm sure you would, but I'm also pretty sure that you wouldn't want to see a very upset former evil queen coming after you either. So I would really watch where you put your hands." He finally backed away from her, realizing that his hands were hovering over her belly unknowingly. Already scared of what he could've done, he turned on his heels and started running away from the diner. Unfortunately, it wasn't anywhere close to the direction he should have gone to go home. Since he already had the domestic disturbance called on him, Emma resolved that she really did need to get him into a cell for the night to sober up. She hadn't ever seen him this drunk before but something must be bothering him.

Driving the cruiser was going to be ineffective in catching him since he wasn't really moving that fast anyway, but Emma decided that she was going to jog to catch up to him. Not even a minute had gone by when she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen. She immediately stopped running and put a hand on her stomach trying to feel if the baby was moving. No movement at all. Panic started to set in as the pain got more intense. She took out her cell phone from her pocket and dialed Regina's cell.

"Emma, darling, what is it? You should be back by now."

"Gina, don't ask questions but meet me at the hospital as soon as you can." Without saying any more, she hung up the phone and put it back into her pocket. Leroy was long gone now and there was absolutely no way that she was going to ignore this pain. The blonde slowly moved towards the cruiser, which was luckily pretty close and set off to drive to the hospital. Her first thought going through her head was of course the baby but the second was that she had broken yet another promise to Regina. The one promise about her not causing any harm to the baby because of her job.  
*End Flashback*

XXXXX

While Regina had gone back to get Emma, Henry was sitting next to his girlfriend's bed in the critical care hospital wing. None of the nurses or doctors that came to check on Grace actually said if anything was wrong. All they would tell him is that she is just taking an extra-long nap due to physical exhaustion and her body just isn't ready to wake up yet. Although a part of him desperately wanted to believe that, the Charming blood in him made him suspect that there was a much bigger picture here.

After a half hour of not hearing anything from his mother, he wondered back out to the waiting room thinking that she would be there, but what he found was an empty room. He walked back to the nurses' station to see if she had left him a message or at least some kind of information to let him know where she went. Talking with one of the nurses, he realized that it was very unlike Regina to just disappear. And then it hit him, what if there was something wrong with his ma? Frantically, he pulled out his cell phone and began to dial his ma's phone. When he got no answer, he dialed his mom's number.

"Henry?"

"Oh, mom, you answered. Thank god. Where did you go? You just kind of disappeared. I've been sitting here with Grace thinking that you were going to come find us. And Ma didn't answer her phone. Is everything okay?"

"Henry, I had to go back to the house. Emma called me while I was talking to Mr. Gold. Everything is fine, I just had to go get her and bring her to the hospital." In the background, Henry could hear his blonde mother moaning loudly in pain.

"What? Why? What's going on?" By now, Henry had gotten the nurses attention by his pacing in the hallway and his louder conversation with his mom.

"Everything is okay, Henry, she started going into labor. We are on our way to the hospital. You can meet us at the door if you really need to but I think you should probably just stay with Grace. She could wake up while you're gone."

"Okay, mom, tell Ma that I love her, please…"

"Of course, Henry. I'll call you when your sister is here. Bye."

"Wait, mom!"

"Yes, Henry?"

"I love you." If Regina's heart wasn't already completely changed by true love, those three words from her son would have done it by itself. The brunette couldn't remember a time when her son had said those words with such admiration and pure love. It meant the world to her.

"I love you too, Henry." She knew that she didn't have to say any more than what she truly meant. Her promise to not ever lie to him may not have been followed whole-heartedly up until now, but she still tried her hardest at making sure that everything she told him was the truth. "Now, I've got to go. Your Ma needs my hand back." A small smirk came onto Henry's face. He always thought it was funny how his two mothers treated each other. Sometimes, it would be extremely sarcastic and almost mean but then other times would be so caring and heartfelt and pure. Their relationship was one of a kind.

"I'll see you later, mom." Hanging up the phone in better spirits than when he picked it up, he realized that he may have been blessed with the best parents in the world. They may not have been conventional but they were his, no less.

While walking back to Grace's room, Henry remembered the very thing that had brought him to the hospital in the first place. The confusion that Mr. Gold had left him in was not unusual but it was different this time. Like something big was going to change or needed to happen in order for him to understand clearly. But then what did Mr. Gold want with his mother?


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They finally make it to the hospital but something Emma says makes Regina's mind go way back to a memory she preferred to bury deep. And then we get to meet baby Swan-Mills!

Regina made the drive to the hospital one of the shortest that they've ever had. Although, she knew that Emma still had a little bit of time before she had to deliver the baby but she didn't want to take her chances. The blonde sat in the front passenger seat with one hand resting on the baby bulge and one hand in the brunette's. Occasionally, Regina would feel the pressure on her hand increase. That was an indication that the blonde was feeling some sort of pain within her. But only once did she actually cry out on the way to the hospital. The brunette found it quite amazing how well the blonde was dealing with the immense amount of pain that was caused by the contractions.

"Emma, honey, we're almost there. I'm driving as fast as I can."

"Gina, just please hurry. This child is making me extremely uncomfortable. …ahhhh!" Emma leaned forward slightly hoping that would lessen the pain. Unfortunately, it didn't.

"Alright, honey. Just remember to breathe slowly and keep holding onto my hand…"

"REGINA! I GOT IT, OKAY?! Stop telling me things like you know what's going on with my body right now. Because it's quite clear that I'm the only one that's done this before." Regina just glanced at Emma. The blonde was looking directly at her with a most serious face. In a way, the brunette felt offended by Emma's outburst. Regina had always wanted to experience this. To experience being pregnant and feeling the child growing within her. To experience childbirth with her true love next to her, encouraging her to keep going despite how painful it would be. To hold the newborn child in her arms and be able to give it all the attention that it would ever possibly need. It wasn't her choice that Emma wound up having this baby instead of her. The brunette wanted to be angry at the blonde for her offensive comment and bringing up such a painful memory but the fact that she was currently in labor, she probably didn't even filter everything that was running through her mind.

"Yes, dear, just remember one thing though," Regina successfully calmed herself down before attempting to explain something to her but not without her eyes betraying her and filling with water. "I wanted this to happen to me, not to you." Staring straight ahead, a single, lone tear fell down the brunette's cheek facing the blonde. Emma just looked at her with utter astonishment. Forgetting momentarily about the pain in her abdomen and recognizing her wife's grief, she felt ashamed for saying such a thing. Still holding onto her hand, the blonde forced herself to try and comfort Regina as best she could.

"Gina, baby, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I'm just…"

"Yeah, Emma, having contractions and hurting like hell. I know." The wall that the brunette had around her heart before suddenly went up again. Usually, the only time it ever did was when she was around Snow. But Emma brought up a memory that she had tried to suppress for years and keep it there. The only reason that Emma knew of this memory was because of a long conversation they had one night when Emma couldn't sleep because of the baby. "Let's just get you into the hospital okay? Look, we're here already."

Regina couldn't have been more thankful for arriving at the hospital at that moment. She pulled the car into the Emergency parking lot. Instead of having Emma walk, Regina went inside to get a wheelchair and pushed it out next to the passenger's side of the car. The brunette opened the car door, took hold of the blonde's hands, and helped her out of the car and into the wheelchair. Emma sank down into the chair once she was in it, trying to find a comfortable position. She was having no luck so she reached for one of Regina's hands as she was being wheeled thru the entrance and to the front desk.

"Ah, Madam Mayor and Sheriff Swan. How is that baby doing?"

"Pretty well considering that it wants to make its appearance right now."

"Well, then, let's get some paperwork filled out and we can get you back to the delivery room."

"Okay, nurse, you clearly DON'T understand the situation here. I am having a baby! I'm pretty sure that paperwork can wait until I am in a room, ready to have this kid."

"Uh… yes, Sheriff Swan, you may be right. Ummm… I'm just going to go see which room is available."

"Good idea." The blonde knew she was being pretty bitchy but seriously, who could blame her? Regina stood behind her, holding onto the wheelchair, clearly amused by the scene that just played out between her wife and the nurse. She had gotten into arguments with Emma before but she had never seen her get this worked up.

"Wow, honey, I'm proud of you. Didn't know you had that in you."

"Well, when you have a child the size of a small watermelon trying to push its way through your body, you might find a lot more of that than you think."

"Sheriff Swan, your room is ready for you. Right this way, please."

"It's about damn time. Ughhh!" The blonde leaned forward slightly, gripping her belly once again.

"Okay, honey, let's get you into that room. I can't stand to see you in this uncomfortable chair any longer.

XXXXX

*Flashback*  
"Regina, baby. Are you awake?" Emma had been lying in bed next to the mayor for quite a while now without having fallen asleep.

"Hmm? Emma, is something wrong?" The brunette sat up quickly and turned toward the blonde.

"Oh no, babe, I'm fine. The baby is just keeping me awake. It seems like whenever I try to fall asleep, it starts treating me like a jungle gym but when I try to stay awake, it wants me to sleep. I don't understand why this one is doing this. Henry sure didn't. Then again, I was behind bars for all of that anyway, so I could sleep whenever I wanted to."

"I'm sorry, honey, but do you think Henry would be happy if we both stayed awake and were cranky all day tomorrow?"

"Probably not, but he might be more understanding of why we were that way."

"Very true." The brunette leaned towards the blonde's belly, moving in to place a sweet, chaste kiss on the top. Regina put her hands on either side of the baby bump and kept her face very near. "Now, little one, why are you keeping momma awake? You should be learning from your big brother already and go to sleep when it's time to go to sleep."

At hearing those words, the blonde could feel the baby start to move around. Then suddenly, the blonde jumped as if something had surprised her. The baby had kicked. Not where the brunette would be able to feel it, but towards her kidneys.

"Ugh, this kid is going to play soccer. She just kicked me in the kidney." Emma sat up against the head board of the bed. Regina let her move into a comfortable spot and took her hands off of the blonde's belly.

"A she, huh?"

"Oh, Gina, sorry. I will start calling it kid again. It's just…"

"It's just what, honey? I thought we decided that we weren't going to find out the sex of the baby until it was born?"

"I know. And I still want to do that, but this kid just feels so different compared to what Henry felt like and I don't think it's just because it's a magic baby. I just thought that it might be a girl considering it is in a completely different position than Henry ever was. Here, give me your hands." The brunette placed her hands in the blonde's and waited for what was about to happen. Emma slowly positioned Regina's hands over the side and the top of her belly. "Now talk to her."

"You did it again."

"I know I did and I'm probably not going to stop. But seriously, keep talking." The brunette looked into the blonde's eyes to see that she was sincere. Without second guessing herself, she lowered her face down towards the baby.

"Hello again, little one. Momma says that you are going to be a little girl. And that you are going to be quite the soccer player. I have yet to be convinced of that so until then, I think I'm just going to oh…"

"Yeah, see, every time you sit there and talk to her, I have to deal with that. You get her all excited. And I told you she was going to be a soccer player!" Emma took one of her hands from the brunette's and ran it through Regina's dark hair. She heard the brunette take a short but quick breath in and then hold it like she wasn't allowed to breathe anymore. Then, as she looked down to the brunette's face, she noticed tears were welling up in her eyes. "Baby, are you okay?"

"Yes, dear, I'm… I'm fine." Most times, the blonde would have just left it at that, but this time was different. She wanted to know why her wife was crying when such a fantastic moment just occurred. Emma lifted her other hand to the brunette's chin and gently brought her eyes to meet Emma's own.

"Baby, you cannot sit there and cry when we both just experienced something so very amazing and tell me that you are just fine. I'm here for you. Please tell me what's bothering you." Regina knew that Emma would insist on hearing an answer now that she had seen the tears.

"Feeling her move… it was… it just reminded me of something that happened long ago."

"Are you going to tell me or am I going to have to pry it out of you?"

"It's kind of a long story, honey. Maybe we should wait for another time." With having said that, Regina started to move away from the blonde until she felt hands grip her arm and bring her back to where she was.

"Well, if you haven't noticed, I'm probably gonna be awake for a while yet. And with you talking, there is no way I'll have a chance at a good night's rest. So I would prefer if we actually spent the time listening to one another."

"Okay, only on one condition though."

"What would that be?"

"That you don't, no matter what, feel pity for me in any way."

"You have my word."

"Well, do you remember what I told you about how Daniel and I were going to run off and get married?"

"Yeah, I do. Your mother killed him before you could even leave the barn."

"Yes, she did. But there is more to the story. More that happened way before that."

"Alright, I'm listening."

"Daniel and I, we didn't always see eye to eye when it came to our futures. He had always wanted the best for me regardless of who that was with. And I always just wanted to be with him no matter what. The night that the King, your grandfather, proposed to me, I ran away to the stables. Snow had caught us but I told her about true love that night and once I calmed her down about my relations with Daniel, she went back to the guest quarters in our home. I stayed with Daniel that night in the stables, hidden from prying eyes. We had a corner where we could successfully hide from anyone. So that's where we were for the whole night. I thought my mother would come looking for me but she never did. Daniel and I, we made love for the first time that night and the last time, for all that matters. I was young and foolish and didn't know any better. I couldn't see that things could potentially go wrong. I only wanted to see what I wanted my future to be and that was it. After my mother had killed Daniel and I had gone through with the wedding to the King, I discovered something that my mother would be very disgraced by. I was pregnant. Not with the King's child but with Daniel's."

"Oh, baby, why haven't you told me this before?"

"I didn't want to remember it, Emma. This is very hard for me to tell."

"You can tell me anything, Regina. You know that. What happened to the baby?"

"Well, before I started to show, I had to figure a few things out. I had to find a way to get rid of my mother. Not kill her, but make sure that she couldn't be near me for the whole duration of the pregnancy. I wanted that child more than anything and she would only take it from me. And the King. I had to make it seem like he was the one who had gotten me pregnant. I know that he knew it wasn't his but we had an unspoken agreement. After I got rid of my mother, I basically went into hiding, as per the King's request. Only him and my father knew. Snow was kept away from me because it would have ruined her if she figured out the truth. I loved her then, despite what she may have done, I still loved her. When the baby's arrival was coming upon us, there was an accident. I had been sitting in my tower and something had gone awfully wrong with one of the hunting parties. As much as I disliked the King, I still had that nagging feeling that I needed to be there with him. And the ironic part is that Snow still didn't see me, even though she was the first one alerted about her father's ailments. I must have been so worried that I just ran to him but once I got there, I immediately regretted it. I hadn't moved like that in months and the baby was protesting. I had pains all over my lower abdomen. Fearing the worst, the King ordered me back to my bedchamber and for midwives and doctors to be summoned. I went through the labor, Emma, but it was too early. The baby didn't live for more than a few minutes. They wouldn't even let me hold him once he was born. But I saw his eyes, Emma, they were just like Daniel's."

"Oh, Regina. I'm so sorry, honey."

"Please, don't do that. Don't say sorry. It was a whole different life. One that wasn't meant for me to live."

"Gina, have I told you lately how much I love you?" Emma leaned towards the brunette and pressed her lips against Regina's. The brunette savored the feeling of her true love's lips on hers. She felt comfort from that small gesture, knowing that that is exactly how the blonde relay's her emotions. Not by words but by physical gestures.

"I love you too, Emma."  
*End Flashback*

XXXXX

"Emma, dear, it's time to push, okay? You've got this, you've done this before, remember?" The brunette had one hand in the blonde's and the other gripping the bed.

"YEAH, REGINA, 15 YEARS AGO! STOP ASKING ME QUESTIONS."

"Okay, babe, sorry. I'll try something different, but seriously, you really need to push. The baby is almost here."

"Gina, I can't do it. It's too hard. It hurts too much." Tears were falling down the blonde's face leaving wet trails on her cheeks.

"Don't say that. You had Henry and look at how perfect he's turned out to be? This little one is going to be just like that."

"Oh god, I hope she's not like me." A few moments of calm came over the blonde who was still holding onto the brunette's hand. More like crushing her hand but those few moments were the only ones the two women were going to get. "no, no, NOOO. Regina, I can't do this."

"What do you want me to do about it, babe?"

"Just something. Ahhh…"

"Okay, okay. I'll do something. Lean forward for me." Instead of looking confused as to why Regina was asking her to lean forward, she just did as she was told. Slowly and carefully, the brunette climbed up on the hospital bed and sat behind Emma, up against her just like she had done in their Lamaze classes. Once sitting down, she moved her arms to be wrapped around Emma's middle and brought her legs up to be bent next to the blonde's. Instantly, the brunette could feel some relief in her wife's body. She was there to support Emma through childbirth. Not only did she know that this is what Emma needed, but also that this is something that she would have wanted too. "Alright, honey, I'm here now. I'm right here behind you. You need to push on the count of 3, okay? One more good push and we'll have our new addition to the family. Okay, one… two… three!"

"aaaaaAAAAAHHHHHhhhhh!" The brunette helped push her wife forward and hold her in place with this one last push. Neither woman could see the baby, but feeling almost an immediate relief, Emma knew that the baby was born. Then suddenly, a very subdued cry filled the ears of everyone in the room.

"Congratulations, mommas! You have a beautiful baby girl!" The doctor held up the baby for a moment so that Regina and Emma could see. The tiny baby had lots of dark hair and looked to have long legs, just like her mothers. The brunette couldn't hold back her tears of joy while she held her wife and looked at her newborn daughter. Their newborn daughter. She was both of theirs. Something that only true love could produce. Without waiting any longer, the nurse quickly wrapped a blanket around her and took her to get cleaned up before she was to be handed off to her mothers. Regina was happy. She was the happiest she has ever been. She removed her hands from the blonde's middle and placed them on the blonde's arms. Emma acknowledged the movement and glanced over her left shoulder to her wife.

"Regina, I love you."

"I love you too, darling." The two women leaned in simultaneously and pushed their lips against each other's. The blonde separated her lips enough to allow her tongue to slip past and move against the brunette's lower lip, begging for entrance. Regina didn't have to think twice about the request as she parted her lips to meet the blonde's tongue with her own. Before their kiss could get any more heated, Regina pulled back and allowed her forehead to lean against the blonde's. "You did it, babe."

"Yes, I did, but not without you."

"Okay, mommas, it's time to meet your daughter." The nurse walked towards the bed slowly and placed a small pink bundle in Emma's arms. Regina stayed sitting behind her and would stay there at least until the nurses had finished cleaning up. Reaching around in front of the blonde, the brunette put her hand on the baby's small head, rubbing her thumb against the forehead. She never wanted to take her eyes off of her beautiful baby girl.

"We need to give her a name, Emma."

"I know we do. Have you decided on the first name?" Neither of the two women was taking their eyes off of the magic bundle in Emma's arms.

"Yes. Gwendolyn."

"Baby, I think that's perfect. And her middle name should be Evangeline, after my grandmother Eva."

"That's beautiful, honey."

"Hello Gwendolyn Evangeline Swan-Mills! Welcome to our family." Nothing in the world could compare to that moment. It was pure bliss.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina's POV on her wife, daughter, son, and a conversation with Mr. Gold. Gwen meets her grandparents.

Regina's POV

My daughter. My daughter. I finally have a child that is a part of me. Yes, Henry has a tendency to act like me sometimes but that's only because I raised him and he's definitely picked up some of my habits. Sitting next to my beautiful wife, I'm holding our daughter close to me. I don't want to let go of her. I don't want this to turn out to be some fantasy that I wake up from and have everything taken from me like it always has. This family, my family, is my happy ending.

Only an hour had passed since the birth of baby Gwendolyn. Emma has been sleeping for the last half hour only because I told her that she should get her rest while it was available to her. With our daughter in my arms, I look up at her blonde mother, lying in the newly remade hospital bed. Her long blonde hair had the faintest hint of curl left from the harsh labor. Her face was turned towards the chair that I was sitting in. The way her facial features were relaxed made her look so peaceful. I can only assume that she fell asleep while watching both myself and her new little baby girl. One hand was stretched out to us while the other was resting gently on her still slightly swollen belly. And all I can think about is how much I love her. She has given me a son, a daughter…. a home. This is where I belong and I will do anything to protect all that I have.

Henry is still sitting with his 'girlfriend' and has yet to meet his baby sister. As much as I really want him to meet her, there is still something about Gold's sudden appearance when I was talking with Henry earlier. It was like he had been waiting for this to happen. I still don't honestly know what he wants with Gwen, why he wants to teach her magic, but whatever it is, I'm not going to let it happen. I know all too well how much he can manipulate people into thinking and believing exactly what he wants them to. Wait, that threat about my wife and daughter living through the next day, nothing happened. Everyone is fine. Well, all except for Grace but she will be better soon. I'm sure of it. All of this is just like one big puzzle piece. I think I really need to talk to Gold, as much as I really don't want to, he is the only one that knows the answers to any of my questions. His proposition involving my daughter is still replaying in my mind every now and then.

"You allow me to instruct your daughter in the art of magic! In return, I will fix this little problem with Henry and make sure your precious wife and daughter live through the next day."

"What the hell are you talking about? Live through the next day? Emma is fine and at home. She has her phone if she needs anything."

"Are you sure about that, dearie?"

That's it. I've got to go find him. My family needs me. They need my help and it seems that I am the only one that is capable of making everything right with the world. Glancing down at Gwendolyn, I notice that she looks like her blonde mother so very much. The nose, the chin, the hair. But remembering from earlier, her eyes are just like mine.

"Okay baby girl, mommy's got to go help big brother, Henry, before anything happens. You know that I love you so much. Make sure momma knows when you're hungry, little one, I will be back as soon as I can." I stand up from the chair and go to the hospital crib that has been sitting in Emma's room this whole time. Before I lay baby Gwen into the crib gently, I place a sweet kiss on her forehead. She squirms slightly when she loses the warmth but then quickly goes back into a peaceful slumber. Gwendolyn hasn't spent more than two minutes in this crib and I'm sure she isn't going to like it now. But I've got to go and Emma needs her rest. Gwen will be okay for a little while.

Walking through the doorway of the cozy hospital room, I stop and look back at my beautiful wife and darling baby girl. Both of them so peaceful and ready for the world to see them as what they are. I want to stay with them, but I know, if I don't go now, something terrible could happen.

XXXXX

Walking into Gold's shop not ten minutes later, I go straight to the back counter. Gold emerges from the back room when I was about half way to the back.

"Ah, Madam Mayor. How nice of you to drop by." He walked up behind the counter and placed his cane in front him with his hands resting on the top.

"Well, you didn't give me much choice in the matter now, did you?" I closed the distance between us with the last few steps up to the counter.

"No, I suppose not. However, have you decided on whether or not to accept my proposition?"

"I want to know a couple things first, just to clarify. First, what is going on with Henry's girlfriend? Why did she go into a coma when he kissed her?"

"Well, about a week ago, young Henry visited my shop and made a deal with me. He wanted to be able to express his feelings for a certain young girl without stuttering every time he opened his mouth. So, the deal for that was that I fixed his 'girl talking' problem but I got to decide his fate with her."

"And he let you do that?"

"Yes, Regina, he did."

"I can't believe that he would allow you to do such a thing."

"Well, dearie, he did. And I had this brilliant idea to make his mother's gift of true love's kiss be the complete opposite affect but ONLY if the girl in question, was indeed NOT his true love. So, in a way, I'm saving him from a heartache later."

"You don't get to decide that, Gold. Henry needs to learn from his own mistakes, not somebody serving his life to him on a silver platter."

"I'd like to think as my platter being made of gold."

"Of course you would. Jesus! He's a teenager. He shouldn't be dealing with this!" I really hate how Henry might end up going through the same loss that I went through when I was younger. I thought Daniel had been my true love but apparently not. Although, I really did love him, he just wasn't the one I was meant to be with. Instead, he helped to guide me to the relationship with my wife, Henry's birth mother. "Gold, can this be fixed?"

"Oh yes, I do believe it can. However, you know the rules. All magic comes with a price." Of course, the little flick of his wrist happened with his last few words. I hate how predictable he can be sometimes.

"Yes, I am well aware. Now what needs to happen for this to be fixed?"

"You know the answer to this, dearie. And I'm afraid you're not going to like it!"

"Teach my daughter magic? No. No way. How do you even know she has magic?" I'm starting to get really frustrated and tired of being in this shop with this insufferable man, but I need to fix all that has gone wrong. If not for me, then for my family.

"How do you think I know a lot of these things, Madam Mayor? Your daughter has you and Emma as her biological parents. You both have magic. And, if I recall, your daughter was made by magic."

"Okay, I get the point. I fell down the wrong path before when I was learning from you and I definitely don't want my daughter to have to go through the same thing as I did. She will have a pure heart."

"I never said anything about turning her dark, dearie." Everything that is coming out of his mouth is really making me uncomfortable, but maybe having a mentor that isn't her parents would be a good thing. She will need to learn how to control her magic. As much as I really want to be the one to teach her, I'm sure Emma would agree with me that we just can't.

"Gold, you have 24 hours to take care of Henry's girlfriend and wake her up. That includes lifting this curse off of Henry." Emma is going to kill me when she finds out. I will have to tell her sooner rather than later. This is for both of our children, right?

"You're forgetting one thing, dearie."

"I don't believe that I am, Gold. When my daughter is of age to learn magic, you can teach her. That does not mean when she starts discovering her abilities, that is when she is old enough to decide for herself which path she wants to follow. As for my wife and daughter right now, you better not hurt them. If you do, you better run for the hills." Emma is definitely going to kill me.

"You have a deal. Have Henry kiss Grace again. She'll wake up and she will be as good as new. That does not mean that she is his true love. You must tell him that. Your wife and daughter will also be fine."

"Thank you. Good bye." I turned away from the little imp of a man before he came up with any other smart ideas. I needed to get to my son. He needs to help his girlfriend and then meet his little sister.

XXXXX

It felt like it took forever to get back to the hospital. I couldn't wait to tell Henry the good news and to see his face when he meets Gwen. I pull into the parking lot and put the car into park. When I walked into the lobby, I noticed Snow and Charming were sitting huddled in the corner of the waiting room. As much as I think they have always been too 'clingy', they are grandparents again and they do deserve to see their first granddaughter.

"Snow, I'm glad you're here." I say while walking up to them.

"Regina, is everything okay? Where did you go? Is Emma and the baby okay?" Snow's face is filled with worry and grief. If only I had a mother like Emma does. Snow deserves better than the front that I have put up for her these past few years. With a cool, collected expression, one that also relayed love and respect, I turned to embrace Snow.

"Everything is perfect, Snow. I think you should meet your granddaughter. She is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." The embrace didn't last long but it was enough to shock Snow and bring tears to her eyes. Her daughter-in-law was finally accepting her for who she is, not what she was. It felt pretty good actually. Maybe after a while, we can set aside our differences and have a real mother-daughter relationship. Even though, it may seem a little backwards compared to what it was before.

"Oh, thank goodness." Snow replied with relief and happiness. Charming just stood behind her with the same look but was also there to support Snow.

"You two can go up to Emma's room. Stop at the nurse's desk and they'll give you directions. I have to go get Henry and bring him to meet his sister. So we'll be up in a little bit."

"Thank you, Regina. Thank you for taking care of our family. You really do deserve Emma, ya know. You have so much love for her and I never quite saw it before now." Well, if her tears weren't enough to persuade mine to come, that statement sure was.

"Ahh… you're making me cry, Snow. You better go see Emma and your granddaughter before I change my mind." Without much more persuading, Snow and Charming turn to leave and I watch them walk up to the nurse's desk for directions. Half way there, Snow stops suddenly and turns back to me.

"Regina, what is my granddaughter's name?"

"Her name is Gwendolyn Evangeline Swan-Mills." Revealing the middle name really choked up Snow. A new cascade of tears started falling down her cheeks and she ran to embrace Regina once more. Charming stood by as an on-looker and only could appreciate how far the relationship between the two women has come. By this point, I can't keep back any tears what so ever. "Okay, Snow, go meet your granddaughter." And she did. Charming took her hand and led her down the hallway to the elevator to go up to Emma's suite.

XXXXX

When I get to Grace's room, Henry has his head lying on the bed next to Grace's hand. I do think he is too young to have a girlfriend, but this is just way too cute. I walk over to Henry and gently shake his shoulder. He starts to rise out of his slumber and once he realizes that I'm there, I start explaining everything to him. What Gold had done to him, what Gold was going to do to his family if he didn't get Gwen as a student, and finally what Henry had to do to wake up Grace. He was so surprised by what it would take that he just stared at me for a minute while he tried to comprehend what he had to do. He quickly realized that even if it didn't work, it was worth the try. So, I took a few steps back up against the wall to give him some room. He stood up and leaned over Grace with great care. As his lips touched hers, there was a slightly visible ripple of air and Grace's eyes began to flutter open. Both of them were so happy and I couldn't help myself but remember what it was like to be young and in love. It really was a grand feeling.

"As much as I don't really want to break up this reunion, I think it's time for Henry to meet his new little sister. Grace, I'll send the doctor in on my way by the nurse's desk."

"Thank you, Madam Mayor." Smiles brightly lit up the room as Henry said a quick goodbye and reassured her that he would be back soon.

XXXXX

"Henry, you have to take it really easy on your ma. She went through a lot more than she should have had to bring baby Gwen into the world. You know how stubborn she is." I had to stop Henry before we entered Emma's suite to talk to him and catch him up on a few more things. "Your grandparents are in there and I'm sure your grandmother brought a camera so be prepared for that. But also, I want you to know something. No matter how much time we spend with Gwen or talking about Gwen in the next few years, you need to remember that your ma and I will still love you just the same as before."

"Of course, mom. I wouldn't think any different. Now, can I go meet her? I've been waiting for the last seven months. Please?" Henry always knew when to pull out his 'little kid' face, as I liked to call it. The expression that he could use to usually get whatever he wanted. That really only worked until he was twelve but because of the occasion, I allowed it to work on this special day.

I put my hands on Henry's shoulders as we entered the hospital suite together. The minute Henry's eyes found baby Gwen, I felt him melt in my hands. He hasn't even held her yet and he was already prepared to do whatever it took to protect her. I let go of his shoulders and he walked over to his grandmother who was holding the small little bundle. Instead of following him, I looked to my left to see Emma was still lying in the same position that I left her in. It must be comforting to her. She was still alert to the room's happenings but she was in a state of bliss that rendered her almost speechless as she watched her mother with her daughter and son. I walked over to the bed she was in, slipped off my shoes and climbed into the bed with her. Our eyes met and I waited for her approval for my hands to hold her close. She gladly allowed me the honor so I snuggled closely up against her back and wrapped my arm loosely over her side and onto her stomach. I leaned forward just enough to reach her cheek and placed a sweet, chaste kiss on it. She took this as invitation for a little more as she turned her head to face me.

"I love you, Regina."

"I love you too, dear." I couldn't wait any longer. My lips met hers in a passionate kiss. Probably more passionate than it should have been in front of her parents and our kids, but before it could go further, I pulled back and laid my head down on the pillow right behind Emma's. "I think I'm going to stay right here for the night and hold you until I feel like I can't anymore."

"You can hold me until I have to feed Gwen and then you better be moving or you're going to be having one unhappy little girl." Emma and I laughed softly as we tried not to disturb the introduction of brother and sister in the opposite corner of the room. Suddenly Snow interrupted.

"Okay, family portrait time! I have my camera. Henry, take Gwendolyn over to your mothers and I guess you can join them on the bed since they are already there. Come on girls, sit up for me, please. Emma, I know it might be hard, but we have to document this."

"Alright, mom, chill out. I'll… uh… sit up. Regina, help me up please." I could tell Emma was not overly enthused about this but she wasn't going to deprive her mother of anything especially when they had missed so much of each other's lives. Emma wasn't going to let a little bit of pain stop her from documenting her daughter's day of birth. She knew how much it would mean to her little girl someday.

Henry brought Gwen over to the bed and handed her to me. She was still sleeping peacefully even after being passed around like a hot potato from person to person. Emma and I were sitting up in the bed, I held Gwen in my left arm, placing her in between us, and Henry sat on Emma's side of the bed, leaning up against her. Before Snow was ready to take the picture, I turned towards my blonde wife.

"Emma, our family is beautiful. It couldn't be more perfect." Emma looked at me like I was crazy.

"Even though we're characters out of a fairytale?" I leaned in close to Emma so that only she could hear me whisper.

"Especially because of that. Thank you for giving me a beautiful daughter." I closed the last little bit of distance between us and captured Emma's pale pink lips. There was a camera flash but neither one of us cared to notice it. Then Emma pulled back.

"Just remember, it's your turn next. I'm not doing this again." Emma had the most serious look on her face. I knew she wasn't kidding.

"Alright, dear. That's fine by me."

"Okay, everyone, look at me." Snow said after she finally figured out the camera. Emma and I looked up at Snow and gave her our best smiles. "Say cheese!" A quick flash from the camera proved that Snow had successfully captured a permanent record of a beautiful, growing family.


	7. Chapter 7

Epilogue

4 years later

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Gwendolyn, happy birthday to you!" The tiny blonde who was almost the miniature version of Emma, looked into her birthday cake with four very special birthday candles on it. Her blonde mother was crouching down next to her while she listened to everyone sing. Her brunette mother was behind the cake taking a picture of the important moment.

"Okay, sweetie, make a wish and blow out your candles." Emma said to her daughter. Gwen was very intelligent for her age, just like Henry had been. Just as she was blowing out her candles, the brunette had snapped a picture. Regina looked at the photo on the digital camera and decided that she was satisfied so she put the camera down for now. She walked around the table to Emma and Gwen.

"Did you make a wish, baby girl?" Regina leaned down to plant a sweet, soft kiss on Gwen's forehead.

"Yes, mommy, I did! I wished for Henry to be home." Gwen looked at Regina while the blonde and the brunette shared a knowing gaze. They knew that Henry had tried to come home for Gwen's birthday but was unable to get away from school. It was his first year in college and they all had to make quite the adjustment when he moved out of the house and four hours away. It wasn't very often that he came home to visit except for holidays.

"Honey," Regina started, returning Gwen's gaze, "Henry is very busy and I don't think he was able to get away from school this time." The brunette began to feel a little uncomfortable having this conversation in front of most of their friends in Storybrooke. She glanced up to Snow, who was on the opposite side of the table. Without saying anything, she knew exactly what to do.

"Hey everyone, who's up for some cake and ice cream?" Snow saved the day again. All of the attention was now on Snow and Charming who were slicing the cake and serving it with the guest's choice of ice cream.

Regina and Emma took little Gwen by her hands and led her out into the entryway of the house. They really needed to talk to her before she lost control. By the look on Gwen's face, she was already getting upset. They couldn't count how many times they had to fix something with their own magic because of what Gwen had managed to do. Kneeling down to be at Gwendolyn's level, Emma thought she would start this discussion.

"Gwen, Henry is a grown-up now. He has a different life than we do and he won't always be able to be home for everything."

"But momma, he belongs here, with us. He is supposed to be here for me. He promised me he always would be."

"Sweetie, he's not coming home today, but we can call him if you want us too. We could talk to him on the phone and you can tell him about everything that happened today." Emma hoped that would work for the 4 year old. She was always quite stubborn, just like both of her parents, but there were times where Emma hoped that wouldn't be the case.

Just as Regina was kneeling down to try to comfort and calm Gwen, the front door swung open. Both women were absolutely stunned at who they saw in the doorway.

"HENRY! You're here!" Gwen ran to the man standing only feet from her. Henry picked her up and swung her around. Little fits of laughter filled the air and the two women watching the whole scene moved closer to each other. Emma lifted her arm up over Regina's shoulder allowing Regina to cross her left arm across her stomach and use her right hand to reach up and hold Emma's dangling hand. Smiles stretched across both of their faces.

"Hey, kid! You're being good for Mommy and Momma, right?" Henry put Gwen back down on her feet and kneeled to be eye level with her. Gwen nodded her head in response to Henry's question. "Well, then, I guess the birthday girl deserves her birthday gift!" Henry reached into the bag that he had carried in with him and pulled out a somewhat large package for Gwendolyn compared to the small girl that she is. Both Emma and Regina knew exactly what it was, which caused them to just stare at Henry, wondering why it was a good time now for such a gift.

"Okay, kid, why don't you take that to Grandma Snow and she'll help you open it."

"Okay, Henry. I knew you would come today!" Without saying anything more, the tiny blonde turned and ran toward Snow, who was standing in the doorway of kitchen, watching the whole scenario.

"Hey Mom! Hey Ma!" Henry gave each of them a hug. "I hope you have some good leftovers. I'm starving."

"Henry, what are you doing here? You told us that you couldn't make." Regina seemed confused but Emma was wondering if this was all part of his plan.

"Mom, I wasn't planning on coming. I don't know what happened. One moment, I was in my dorm working on homework and the next, I was sitting in my car behind the wheel with my bag all ready to go in the passenger seat." Now, both of the women were confused. Until Regina realized her daughter had been begging for Henry earlier in the day.

"I think I know what happened." Regina said, bringing Emma and Henry out of their stupor. "I think Gwen did it. She wanted to see you so bad that she actually took the first step for you. She used her magic."

"Did I hear someone say magic?" Regina spun around and saw the one person that she never wanted to see again. Rumplestiltskin.

"You are not welcome here, Rumple. Please leave."

"Oh, I will, dearie, don't you worry. But there is something that we must discuss first." Neither Emma, nor Regina really liked where this conversation was headed, but they knew that it was something to do with Gwen's magic abilities.

"Henry, please go into the kitchen with Gwen and your grandmother. We need to talk with Rumplestiltskin for a moment." Henry didn't need to be asked twice. He knew exactly what they were going to talk about and he really didn't want to be there to witness his sister's fate. He grabbed his bag off the floor and walked off into the kitchen.

"Alright, Rumple, the floor is yours."

"Well, dearie, it just so seems that your precious daughter has magic abilities beyond anything than I ever thought."

"Yeah, she does, but what's it to you? You don't get to teach her anything until she is old enough to decide her own fate." Regina hated thinking about her daughter possibly going through anything of what she had.

"I'm going to offer this once, dearie, and you're going to want to listen. Things will start happening to your family if you don't allow me to at least start teaching how to control her magic. These things will be small at first but they will grow until they are life threatening. They aren't necessarily all in my control either, so don't think that this resides solely within my power. If it were up to me, I would've waited until the next product of true love had graced us with its presence." Rumple glanced down to Regina's waist quickly and then back up to meet her gaze and also Emma's. Regina felt uncomfortable with the way the conversation was headed but without even thinking about it, she raised her hand to rest on her lower abdomen.

"I don't want you to hurt her, Rumple." Emma was still slightly confused about the weird glances that were happening between the two, but Regina's last words made he acknowledge that her daughter really needed help.

"It's not her that would be the one getting hurt. I'm more afraid for myself than I am for her. She bordering on having more power than myself, Regina, and you know what that means."

"Yes, I do. Rumple, you need to let me think about this and talk to Emma privately." Emma relaxed a little bit. Her wife was the strong one and to let her take the reins with these decisions was hard to handle but she trusted her.

"Fine. You have 48 hours to give me your answer. In the meanwhile, I suggest that you enjoy this time with your family." Without a trace, Rumplestiltskin had vanished. Regina turned to Emma and put her arms out where Emma met them with her own. They held each other like this for a little while before they began to talk.

"Emma, I have something to tell you."

"I know, Regina, Gwen has to go learn from Gold, doesn't she?"

"Well, yes, she does. If there is a higher power than Rumple dealing the cards here, then I'm afraid of what might happen if we don't comply. But that's not what I was going to tell you." Regina's eyes started to fill with betraying tears.

"Baby, what is it?" Emma hadn't seen the brunette cry in quite a while. In fact, not since Gwen was a baby and she had gotten sick. The blonde lifted her hands to rest on the brunette's face and wipe away the tears with her thumbs. Regina looked up into Emma's eyes.

"Emma, I'm pregnant."


End file.
